The Anti-Yule Ball
by Cookie VanDeKamp
Summary: It's not a good idea to stand Rose Weasley up. Or cheat on Scorpius Malfoy. Or let these two team up. Main plot focuses on Rose and Scorpius, but there's also a subplot about James and Lily.
1. Prologue

Rose sighed as she glanced at the clock tower. Seven twenty. He was now an hour and five minutes late. Why hadn't she walked away yet? Any self-respecting person would've. And Rose Weasley was certainly self-respecting.

She sat down on the stoop, watching as other happy couples went by, having a nice life. The music from the Yule Ball raged on inside, but Rose didn't feel like going inside to join the festivities. She hadn't even really wanted to come in the first place. She didn't like people very much and she liked parties even less. Really, a night spent reading and catching up on her homework would've been much better than the night she was having so far. She had gotten this ridiculous pink set of robes for nothing. They were originally intended to impress Lucas Bryarly, but seeing as how he had yet to show, Rose had a feeling he didn't care what she was wearing.

Rose rested her elbows on her knees, putting her chin in her hands. Why had she agreed to be Lucas's date? He wasn't even that good-looking or smart. Why had she bothered with wearing something nice? And why, oh why, had she thought he'd actually show up?

* * *

As one of the Slytherin prefects, technically one of Scorpius's jobs at the Yule Ball was to stop couples from getting overly-intimate. But as far as Scorpius was concerned, his normal duties weren't a concern tonight. Not when the place was crawling with students, from Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons alike. Anyone trying to restore order in this place would have to be completely mad.

He craned his neck to look out over the grounds. He couldn't see what he was looking for. All he saw was trees, animals, a couple going at it against a carriage, but no Libriana. Maybe she was inside? No; he had searched the entire room for his girlfriend, and she was nowhere to be found. One of his mates from Quidditch had told him he'd seen Libriana step outside to get some air.

Scorpius walked around the side of the castle, pulling out his wand and muttering, "_Lumos_!" under his breath. The light that appeared at the tip of his wand wasn't much, but at least now he could see where he was going. He wandered down the path through the grounds, looking for Libriana.

He saw a figure up against a tree somewhere in the distance. Scorpius squinted. It was Julius, one of his closest friends. He was pressing some random girl against tree, presumably sucking face with her again… Julius was always doing things like that. As much as Scorpius liked Julius, he had to admit his habit of ditching him at the slightest opportunity for sex was a rather annoying habit.

Scorpius stepped a bit closer to the tree to see what random slut Julius was snogging this time, and was in for a bit of a shock.

It was Libriana.

* * *

Lily sadly swung her legs back and forth as she sat on a chair on the side of the room. She was so disappointed in the way the night was going. None of her (very few) friends got dates, so she couldn't talk to them. Her date had stood her up. Her brother Albus and her cousin Rose were nowhere to be found. The thirteen year old picked a piece of lint off her periwinkle dress. She'd gone to such great lengths to look pretty. It just didn't seem quite fair.

"Hey, Lil, why the long face?" a voice said. Lily looked up. It was her seventeen year old brother, James. He sat down next to her, popping a fondue strawberry into his mouth. "Shouldn't you be off dancing or whatever?"

She shook her head silently. Although she and James were very close, she didn't want to go into the matter with him.

"Besides, I thought you were ecstatic last week—Rose said some guy from Beauxbatons asked you."

She shrugged. "He—he couldn't make it…"

"Something came up? Family issues?"

Lily sighed sadly, brown eyes brimming with tears. "He stood me up."

James paused, registering the sentence, but once it was registered, he scowled.

"That rat bastard."

"James, it's alright. I barely knew him. It's not a big deal," Lily said, glancing down at her lap.

"Yes, it is a big deal! So now, my new goal for the night is to make him wish he had never been born."

"B-but why?"

"No one stands my baby sister up and gets away with it!"


	2. Chapter 1

"I need your help."

Rose looked up, snapping out of her thoughts when she heard the voice. A tall blonde boy, about her age, was standing over her. He looked distinctly displeased at the moment. In fact, he looked rather agitated. _Well,_ Rose thought, _at least I'm not the only one who's having a miserable night._

"…Malfoy, isn't it?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I know you know me, Weasley. I'm the one that gave you detention last week, remember?"

Rose yawned. "Not really. Detentions all sort of run together for me."

"Why _were_ you bunking off History of Magic, anyway?"

"It bores me."

"…_And_?"

"I don't like being bored."

Scorpius sighed. "Look, whatever. The point is, I need your help with something."

"Oh, yeah? And what would that be?"

"You know Libriana Copper, right?"

"Blonde, buxom, brainless?"

"Yeah, her."

"What about her?"

"She's cheating on me."

"And this came as a _surprise_ to you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Rose gave a throaty chuckle. "Malfoy, Libriana has been cheating on you with every guy in Hogwarts from the start. I honestly thought it was an open relationship for a while."

Scorpius blinked a couple times. "…I'm the last to know this?"

"Evidentially."

He huffed and said, "Well, now I know, and I don't want her to get away with this. I'm a Malfoy! No one slights a Malfoy and gets away with it!"

"Yeah, no one except for Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, my dad, me, and my mum, who, if I recall the story correctly, once punched your dad in the nose."

"…Besides them."

"Well," Rose said lazily, "as _fascinating _as your quest for revenge sounds, I don't see why my help is required."

"Well, you seemed like an appropriate choice. You're cold, devious, cunning, cruel, vengeful, nast—I'm not helping my case here, am I?"

"You're really not."

"You know, I have to say, I'm surprised you came. The Yule Ball always seemed so… feminine for you."

"Well, unless I have this whole sex ed. thing seriously mixed up, I _am_ a feminine being."

"But you were just saying last week how you were planning to skip the Ball to catch up on your schoolwork or something. What made you change your mind?"

"I got a date."

"Really? What poor soul was desperate enough to ask you?"

Rose glared at him, saying, "Lucas Bryarly, as if it were any of _your_ business."

"Really!"

"Is that honestly so hard to believe?"

"Well, where is Lucas now, if I may ask?"

Rose fidgeted uncomfortably. "He felt ill and went to the infirmary."

Scorpius smirked. "Liar."

"Am not! He just—I mean—he…" Rose stuttered, trying to weave together a believable story on the spot. "He…"

"Stood you up?"

Rose glared up at him, but didn't say anything.

He just shrugged. "It happens to the best of us, Rosie."

"Don't call me Rosie."

"But, keeping this piece of information in mind, I am willing to cut you a deal."

"Keep talkin'."

"You help me punish Libriana and Julius; I'll help you make Lucas's life miserable."

"When do we start?"

"That's my girl."


End file.
